The last three years have been a humbling experience for Coach Bill Henderson and the Richmond Hill basketball program. But Henderson believes there may be a light at the end of the tunnel--and it’s not necessarily followed by a train.
In his 13th season Henderson, still one of the youngest coaches in the area, is encouraged by what he’s seen in his team’s 3-3 start. The three losses have come by a total of six points so in theory the Wildcats could easily be unbeaten.
Richmond Hill played at Bluffton (2-1) on Tuesday night and has home games on Friday against Statesboro (4-0) and on Saturday takes on Jenkins (2-1) in a 5:30 p.m. game.
Richmond Hill had reeled off seven straight winning seasons during which it posted a 132-59 record before the bottom dropped out three years ago when it went 5-21. It was considered an aberration as Henderson had a solid program in place, one which had gone 24-5 and 21-4 the previous two seasons.
However, that season was inexplicably followed by 6-19 and 4-22 campaigns with several of the losses being by double digits. So, it’s easy to understand why Henderson is encouraged by his team’s start, losses notwithstanding.
“I’ve been pretty pleased with the way we’ve played,” Henderson said. “We’re being disciplined, playing hard and doing the little things. The guys have done a really good job of doing those things.
“In doing that they’re giving us every opportunity to win games,” Henderson said. “I remember a few years ago we won a lot of close games and we were called the ‘Cardiac Cats’. This team is playing like that right now.”
With a remade roster—there are eight new names on this year’s varsity roster from the one posted on MaxPreps last year—the new-look Wildcats opened the season with a dominating 66-24 win over Glynn Academy. They own a 55-30 win over Islands and a 70-68 nailbiter over Hilton Head.
The losses have been gut-wrenchers, a pair of one point games with Beach (4-3) and a four-point loss at the hands of Brunswick (6-0). Both of those teams are looking for big seasons and serve as excellent measuring sticks for the progress the Wildcats are making.
“We just couldn’t pull those games out,” Henderson said of the losses. “We made some mistakes down the stretch. In both of the Beach games we had the lead in the fourth quarter but couldn’t put them away.
“In the three losses we could have done things better but I’m a firm believer that experience is a great teacher. Hopefully we’ll learn from those games some things that will help us in January and February when we get into region play.”
Josh Scott, a 6-foot-4 senior, is leading the Wildcats in scoring at 15 points per game. He is joined in the starting lineup by seniors Zion Flash and Amari Jordan and juniors Josh Mock and Drew Nudo.
Senior Andre Brown is the first man off the bench and Henderson said Brown provides a lot of energy along with defense and rebounding.
“I’m just super impressed and pleased with all the guys and the effort they’re giving,” Henderson said. “So far every game seems to be a nail biter. Hopefully this will pay off.”
The roster, number in parenthesis: (1) Zion Flash, senior; (2) Josh Mock, junior; (3) Amari Jordan, senior; (4) Joshua Scott, senior; (5) Andre Brown, senior; (10) Lentz Vignier, junior; (11) Cutter Barnes, senior; (12) Drew Nudo, junior; (14) DJ Porter, sophomore; (15) Alonzo Miller, sophomore; (33) Jordan David, senior; (24) Brandon French, junior; (no numbers assigned) Aiden Broome, freshman; Tre’viance Grayson, sophomore.